Their only crime was to conceive a child before marriage and for that these women were condemned to a life of hard labour and unimaginable cruelty. Despite the dark and serious themes of Eclipsed, director Nick Strudwick says it great to work with the cast and see the relationship between the main characters develop.

Written by Patricia Burke Brogan, Eclipsed, which is set to premiere at the Abbey Theatre this week, is a story based on the Magdalene laundries in Ireland.

They were also known as the Magdalene asylums and were generally institutions set up by the Roman Catholics for the ‘fallen women’ - namely prostitutes - however, by the twentieth century laundries were filled women and girls of all kinds.

Between 1922 and 1966, figures suggest thousands of women had passed through the Magdalene laundries in Ireland – for many, their only wrongdoing was to have a child out of wedlock. As a result they were permanently separated from their children and forced to work in these institutions with very little food.

Patricia sets her play in the fictional place of Killmacha in 1963 where despite the dark world they live in, the humanity of the 'penitents' and their compassion for each other shines through. It tells the story of four women - forced inmates of the Magdalene laundry - who escape into realms of fantasy and rebellion.

Nick says: “It has given me tremendous pleasure to see the development of the relationship between the four main characters, who have had to endure the hardship and indignity of life in the laundry, under the strict unfeeling control of the Mother Superior, played by Lesley Gordon.

“The set, however, has brought its challenges. It is quite amazing how many brushes, washboards, buckets, to say nothing of sheets and dirty shirts, are needed to equip a working laundry.”

Jenny Kilcast plays Brigit, a very complex personality. “She is bristling with anger and resentment over the injustice of her position,” Jenny explains. “However, many of the lighter moments of escapist fantasy in the play are initiated by Brigit, as a way of keeping their spirits up. Brigit never gives up trying to escape and find her daughter, despite being nearly overwhelmed by despair. You can’t help admire her determination and courage.”

Beth Wilson, is the youngest in the cast, which she feels really helped her to portray Cathy McNamara. “Although Cathy is already a mother, she has not had the chance to grow up properly in the outside world. She is really childlike in her excitement, when there is an opportunity to enjoy herself,” she says. “Cathy is asthmatic, which is a bad condition to have in a damp laundry, so the other women mother her. In the same way, the older, more experienced cast members have really looked after me, so the relationships have come easily.”

Diana Clutterbuck, who plays Rosa, describes her character as “bookends” to the story. Rosa looks at the plight of the Magdalene 'penitents' from a more modern perspective.

She says: “For the most part, women today have the freedom to choose how to live their lives. These women had no choice whatsoever. Nor did their children, deprived of a relationship with their birth mothers. My character illustrates the desperate sadness of their situation.”

Packed full of song and dance to lift the spirits, this is a harrowing story but one that seeks to show the humanity behind the hardship.

Abbey Theatre Studio, Westminster Lodge, Holywell Hill, St Albans, January 22 to 30. Details: 01727 857861, abbeytheatre.org.